This invention relates generally to airplane landing gear assemblies and particularly to kneelable nose landing gear assemblies whereby the nose of an airplane fuselage may be lowered during cargo loading operations.
In various commercial jet airplanes, cargo is loaded and unloaded from the airplane through a door in the nose of the fuselage. In such airplanes it is desirable that the fuselage nose have the capability of being lowered to facilitate cargo loading operations. In particular, it is desirable that certain commercial airplanes currently in use be retrofitted with a device providing such a kneeling capability. For example, in prposed commercial cargo versions of the Boeing 747 airplane, which has a nose cargo door sixteen feet above the ground, it has been sought to facilitate front end loading by means of a kneelable nose landing gear assembly.
It has also been sought to employ a kneeling landing gear assembly whereby the nose of the airplane fuselage may be rigidly and securely supported during cargo loading operations. Particularly during loading and unloading of heavy cargo packages, for example motor vehicles, it is desirable that momentary weight loads on the nose landing gear assembly not be borne entirely by the nose landing wheel and the landing gear shock absorber assembly. To facilitate safe and efficient loading of heavy cargo packages, it is desirable that the nose of the fuselage be rigidly supported from below and not be subject to vertical bouncing or sponginess due to the inherent flexibility of the nose landing wheel and the shock absorber assembly.
Devices heretofore available for providing kneeling capability to nose landing gear assemblies have not met with commercial acceptance for a number of reasons. First, such devices are not retrofittable onto existing commercial jet airplanes. More particularly, they are not retrofittable onto airplanes having forwardly retracting landing gear assemblies. Secondly, such devices do not, in and of themselves, provide a means for rigidly supporting the fuselage nose or for limiting the weight load on the landing wheel and the shock absorber assembly while the nose is in a lowered position.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a kneeling nose landing gear assembly for modern commercial airplanes.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a device which may be retrofitted onto existing nose landing gear assemblies to add kneeling capability of such assemblies.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a device which provides kneeling capability to a conventional landing gear assembly without interfering with the normal operation of the landing gear assembly.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a kneeling nose landing gear assembly which rigidly supports the fuselage nose and limits the weight load on the nose landing wheel and shock absorber assembly when the nose of the airplane is in a kneeling position.